macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install xdg-ninjalocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install xdg-ninja with Homebrew, apk, Nix
Check your $HOME for unwanted files and directories. Version 0.2.0.2 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add xdg-ninjaAlpine Linux edge package indexes · xdg-ninja · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#xdg-ninjanixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/xd/xdg-ninja/package.nix · source: api.github.com
overview
Package summary
Check your $HOME for unwanted files and directories
Project links
Commands and aliases
- xdg-ninja
history
Project history and usage
xdg-ninja is a shell-based checker for users who want a cleaner home directory and better XDG Base Directory compliance. It scans for known dotfiles and directories in $HOME, then reports whether each one can be moved and how to do it.
Project history
The project began in May 2022 with an initial shell implementation and an early import of supported-program data from the Arch Wiki XDG Base Directory page. The README still describes the configuration corpus as coming from the Arch Wiki, antidot, and user contributions.
The tool deliberately keeps the main checker simple: a POSIX-like shell script, jq, and find are enough to run the tests. Later work added a Haskell helper, xdgnj, for generating and editing the JSON program configurations, while the README emphasizes that the shell script remains the core checker.
Adoption history
xdg-ninja grew with dotfiles culture and the recurring frustration that many command-line programs still create legacy ~/.name files even after the freedesktop.org XDG Base Directory Specification defined preferred locations for config, data, state, cache, and runtime files.
The README documents Nix and Homebrew usage, but also warns that because upstream does not cut regular releases, Homebrew users should install and upgrade from HEAD. That is an unusually transparent adoption note and explains why package-manager versions may lag behind the living configuration database.
How it is used
Users run xdg-ninja in their home environment. The script checks known paths, prints warnings for unwanted files or directories, and renders Markdown help explaining whether the item is movable and what setting or migration step can relocate it.
Contributors add JSON files under programs/. Each file names a program and the $HOME paths it creates, plus Markdown help for movable or unsupported cases. The XN_PROGRAMS_DIR environment variable can point the checker at an alternate configuration directory.
Why package nerds care
xdg-ninja is important to package nerds because it turns the messy social problem of XDG compliance into a testable, crowd-maintained catalog. It is half lint tool, half living index of which CLI programs respect modern Unix home-directory conventions.
It also exposes a subtle packaging issue: data freshness matters more than binary freshness. A stale packaged xdg-ninja can miss newly documented offenders even if the shell code itself still works.
Timeline
- 2021-05-08: XDG Base Directory Specification 0.8 publication date.
- 2022-05-12: xdg-ninja initial commit and first implementation.
- 2022-05-12: Early supported-program data imported from the Arch Wiki article.
- 2022-06-06: v0.2.0.0 tag.
- 2024-02-03: v0.2.0.2 tag for the xdgnj helper release line.
Related projects
- XDG Base Directory Specification: defines the directory conventions xdg-ninja checks against.
- Arch Wiki XDG Base Directory page: one of the configuration-data sources named by upstream.
- antidot: another source of XDG migration knowledge credited by the README.
- xdgnj: upstream helper for creating and previewing xdg-ninja program configuration files.
Sources
- Git history and tags: https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja
- README, b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja: https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja#readme
- XDG Base Directory Specification: https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/latest/
- xdg-ninja shell script: https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja/blob/main/xdg-ninja.sh
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 1 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
./programs/
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
xdg-ninja | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version0.2.0.2
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninjanone confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:xdg-ninja |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.2.0.2 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/xdg-ninja |
| Homepage | https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja |
| Repository | https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja#readme |
| License | MIT |
| Source archive | https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja/archive/refs/tags/v0.2.0.2.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | glow |
| Uses from macOS | jq |
| Bottle | available (on all) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | xdg-ninja |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
xdg-ninja
nix profile install nixpkgs#xdg-ninja- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdg Ninja
apk95%
xdg-ninja 0.2.0.2-r0
Shell script which checks your home directory for unwanted files and directories
https://github.com/b3nj5m1n/xdg-ninja
sudo apk add xdg-ninja- License: MIT
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdg-ninja
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdg Ninja
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment